Scottish tennis capitalises from Murray

Murraymania shows no sign of weakening. On the back of his successes at SW19 and Flushing Meadows, Scottish tennis officials will attempt to capitalise on the Dunblane player's success closer to home with a major push into Scottish primary schools later this month.

Children as young as five are to be encouraged to start playing Ariel mini-tennis. The game sees pairs of children lined up on opposite sides of a net with one throwing the ball and the other hitting it. With smaller courts, nets, and rackets as well as slower balls, youngsters develop their ability and compete through red, orange and green stages before, finally, playing full tennis as soon as they are strong enough.

Ryan Hargreaves, a tennis coach in Edinburgh, said:

There has been huge interest from kids since Wimbledon. When I ask them who their favourite player is they don't say Andy Roddick or Roger Federer anymore: they say Andy Murray because he's Scottish and they've seen him playing on TV.